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Akokisa. The name Akokisa, spelled in various ways, was given by
the Spaniards to those Atakapa living in southeastern Texas,
between Trinity Bay and Trinity River and Sabine River. (See Atakapa under Louisiana.)
Alabama. Alabama Indians came to Texas early in the nineteenth century, and the largest single body of Alabama still lives there on a State reservation in Polk County. (See Anadarko. The name of a tribe or band belonging to the Hasinai Confederacy (q. v.). Apache. The Jicarilla and other Apache tribes raided across the boundaries of this State on the northwest and west in early times, but the only one of them which may be said to have had its headquarters inside for any considerable period was the Lipan (q. v.). Aranama. The Aranama were associated sometimes with the Karankawa in the Franciscan missions but were said to be distinct from them. Although a small tribe during all of their known history, they held together until comparatively recent times, and Morse (1822) gives them a population of 125. They were remembered by the Tonkawa, when Dr. A. S. Gatschet visited the latter, and he obtained two words of their language, but they are said to have been extinct as a tribe by 1843. While their affiliations are not certainly known, they were undoubtedly with one of thc three stocks, Karankawan, Tonkawan, or Coahuiltecan, probably the last mentioned, and will be enumerated provisionally with them. (See Coahuiltecan Tribes.) Atakapa, see Akokisa above and under Louisiana.
Bidai. Perhaps from a Caddo word signifying "brushwood," and
having reference to the Big Thicket near the lower Trinity River
about which they lived.
![]() Biloxi. Some Biloxi entered Texas before 1825. In 1846 a band was camped on Little River, a tributary of the Brazos. Afterward they occupied a village on Biloxi Bayou in the present Angelina County, but later either returned to Louisiana or passed north to the present Oklahoma. (See Mississippi.) Caddo Tribes. Under this head are included the Adai and the Natchitoches Confederacy (see Louisiana); and the Eyeish, the Hasinai Confederacy, and the Kadohadacho Confederacy in Texas.
Cherokee. A band of Cherokee under a chief named Bowl settled in
Texas early in the nineteenth century, but they were driven out
by the Texans in 1839 and their chief killed.
(See Tennessee.) [REF:#001]
![]() Choctaw. Morse (1822) reported 1,200 Choctaw on the Sabine and Neches Rivers, and some bands continued to live for a while in eastern Texas. One band in particular, the Yowani Choctaw, was admitted among the Caddo there. All the Choctaw finally removed to Oklahoma. (See Mississippi.)
Comanche. Significance unknown.
![]() Creeks, see Muskogee, under Alabama. Deadose. An Atakapa tribe or subtribe in south central Texas. (See Louisiana.)
Eyeish, or Haish. Meaning unknown.
Also called Aays, Aix, Aliche, Yayecha, etc.
![]() Guasco. A tribe or band which attained some prominence from the importance attached to it in the narratives of the De Soto expedition. (See Hasinai Confederacy.) Hinai. An important band of the Hasinai Confederacy (q. v.). Hasinni Confederacy. Hasinai signifies "our own folk." The name often occurs in the forms Assinay or Cenis.
![]() Texas, a common name applied to them, was adopted as the designation of a Republic and later State of the American Union. It has been given to places in Washington County, Ky., and Baltimore County, Md.; to Tcxas City, Galveston County, Tex.; Texas Creek, Fremont County, Colo.; and in the combined form Texarkana to a city on the boundary line between Texas and Arkansas, entering also into Texhoma, Texas County, Okla., and Sherman County, Tex. Isleta del Sur, see Pueblos under New Mexico. Jicarills. The Jicarilla ranged into this State (Texas) at times. (See Colorado.)
Kadohadacho Confederacy. The word Kadohadacho signifies in the
native language "real chiefs," kadi being the word for "chief,"
and it is from an abbreviation of this term that we get the word Caddo.
They were also called:
At'-ta-wits, by the Comanche, according to Ten Kate (1907).
Da'sha-i, or Tashash, by the Wichita.
Erawika, by the Pawnee.
'H'-doum-dei-kih, by the Riowa.
Ka-lox-la'-tce, by the Choctaw.
Kalu-xnadshu or Kasseye'i, by the Tonkawa.
Kul-hul-atsl, by the Creeks.
Ma'-seip'-kin, by the Kiowa, signifying "pierced noses."
Ni'ris-hari's-ki'riki, another Wichita name.
Ota's-ita'niuw', Cheyenne name, signifying "pierced nose
people" for Utaseta).
Su'-dee, hy the Quapaw.
Tani'banen, by the Arapaho, signifying "pierced nose people."
Witune, by the Comanche, according to Gatschet (M.S., B.A.E.).
Connections.- The Kadohadacho belonged to the Caddo division of
the Caddoan linguistic stock, thc other members being the closely
related Hasinai (q. v.) and Natchitoches (see under Louisiana),
and the more remotely connected Adai of Louisiana and Eyeish of
Texas.
Location.- The Kadohadacho lived in northeastern Texas and
southwestern Arkansas at the Great Bend of Red River, though they
are usually associated with the region around Caddo Lake which
they occupied at a later period. (See also Arkansas and
Louisiana.)
Subdivisions
Cahinnio, near Ouachita River, Ark.
Kadohadacho, on the north side of Red River near the point where
the present Arkansas-Texas boundary line reaches it.
Nanatsoho, on the south side of Red River not far from the point
reached by the present Arkansas-Oklahoma State line.
Upper Nasoni, on the south side of Red River nearly opposite the
present Ogden.
Upper Natchitoches, on the south side of Red River between the
Nanatsoho and Nasoni.
Upper Yatasi, a part of the Yatasi which joined them in very late
times.
History.- In October 1541, De Soto and his army entered a
province called Tula believed to be the country of the Indians
later known as Cahinnio, a tribe for whose bravery the Spaniards
came to have a wholesome respect. The next encounter between
these people and white men was in the summer of 1687 when, after
the murder of the Sieur de la Salle, six survivors of his
expedition, including Joutel and Father Anastasius Donay, passed
through the Kadohadacho towns on their way to the Mississippi,
visiting the Nasoni, Kadohadacho, and Cahinnio. Tonti visited
them also 4 years later. In November and December 1691, Domingo
Teran (Castaneda, 1936) spent a miserable week in this country
exploring it and taking soundings of Red River, and we owe to him
the first map of the region. In 1700 Bienville undertook to reach
them but got no farther than the Yatasi village halfway between
thc Natchitoches and Kadohadacho. In 1719 the French officer
Bernard de la Harpe (1831) spent some time among them and
established a trading post which endured for a considerable
period. French traders quickly monopolized the Kadohadacho trade,
the principal trading point being Natchitoches, but no missions
were established. This group of tribes proved to be a strong
bulwark against the warlike northern Indians, particularly the
Osage, but they suffered much in consequence, and late in the
eighteenth century the Kadohadacho or a part of them moved to
another location some miles below their ancient village. The town
established in the new location, however, was also attacked by
the Osages, who inflicted such losses upon its inhabitants that
they removed again about 1800 and established themselves on Sodo
Creek northwest of the present Shreveport. In 1824 a treaty was
signed between the United States Government and the Quapaw
Indians by which the latter agreed to give up their lands on the
Arkansas and remove to the country of the Caddo Indians. The
Quapaw removed the year following but suffered such losses on
account of floods in Red River that in 1833 they surrendered
these lands and removed to Oklahoma. Two years later the
Kadohadacho and their allies also subscribed to a treaty by which
they surrendered all of their lands within the territory of the
United States. In consequence, they removed to Texas and settled
near their Hasinai kindred, whose fortunes they afterward
followed although the two parties remained distinct for a
considerable period. Some united themselves for a time with the
Cherokee under Chief Bowl. Some also took up their residence with
the Chickasaw in the Indian Territory. Those who remained in
Texas were fellow victims with the Hasinai of the increasing
friction with their white neighbors embittered by Comanche and
Apache depredations for which they were in no way responsible. We
may now call these united peoples by the simple term "Caddo." In
an endeavor to end these difficulties a reservation was set apart
for the Caddo on Brazos River in 1852 but trouble arose again of
such a violent character that in 1859 the Caddo abandoned Texas
and were assigned a new reservation in the southwestern part of
the present State of Oklahoma, where their descendants still
live, most of the scattered bands having been gathered into one
section. Most of the Caddo sided with the Federal Government
during the Civil War and went to Kansas, where they remained
until it was over, though experiencing many hardships in
consequence and losing many of their people in epidemics. They
took considerable interest in the Ghost Dance Religion and still
more in the Peyote Cult, John Wilson, a mixed-blood Caddo and
Delaware, being one of the prominent leaders. The fact that they
had always cultivated the ground has made their adjustment to the
new economic system fairly easy. In 1902 they were allotted land
in severalty.
Population.- My estimate for the Kadohadacho division of the
Caddo before White contact is 2,000. Bienville and La Harpe place
it in 1700-1709 between 2,000 and 2,500. In 1718, however,
Bienville asserts that it had fallen to 200 warriors, which would
mean about 800 people, and Sibley (1832) indicates the same
figures as late as 1805. In 1829 Porter (in Schoolcraft, vol. 3)
gives an estimate of 450, and in 1851 Stem (1851) who is likely
to be reliable, places it at 476. In 1857 Neighbors returns a
partial enumeration of 235, and in 1876, the last time they were
returned separately from the Hasinai, the Indian Office reported
467. It is evident, however, that this also includes part of the
Hasinai and all of the Adai and Eyeish besides the remnants of
the Natchitoches group. After this date the population of the
united Caddo group remained around 500, but during the present
century it has been steadily increasing and in 1937, 967 were
reported.
Connection in which they have become noted.- The Kadohadacho
group is noted as containing the tribe which ultimately gave the
name Caddo to the linguistic family of which it is a part. The
name Caddo has been applied to a parish and lake in Louisiana; a
county in Oklahoma; a creek and gap in Arkansas; to the village
of Caddo Gap, Montgomery County, Ark.; and to villages in Bryan
County, Okla., and Stephens County, Tex.; and in Hunt County,
Tex., is Caddo Mills.
Karankawan Tribes. The name Karankawa is derived from one of the
constituent tribes, but the significance is unknown.
Nda kun-dadehe, Lipan name, meaning "people walking in the
water."
Quelancouchis, Clamcoets, names given by the French.
Yakokon kapai, Tonkawa, meaning "without moccasin," but this name
includes the coast Coahuiltecan tribes.
Connections.- The Karankawan tribes are placed in an independent
linguistic stock, which was connected most closely, it would
seem, with the Coahuiltecan group.
Location.- On the coast of the Gulf of Mexico between Trinity and
Arkansas Bays.
Subdivisions
Five principal tribes constituted the Karankawan stock. They were as follows.
Coapite.
Coaque or Coco, on Galveston Island and at the mouth of Brazos River.
Karankawa, on Matagorda Bay.
Kohani, near the mouth of Colorado River.
Kopano, on Copano Bay.
To these should perhaps be added the Tiopane and Tups, and
perhaps also the Pataquilla, and the Quilotes mentioned by Cabeza
de Vaca (1851).
History.- The Karankawan coast was skirted by a number of early
voyagers but the first contact with its inhabitants worth noting
was by Cabeza de Vaca and other shipwrecked members of Pamphilo
de Narvaez's expedition. There is little doubt that the people
among whom Cabeza de Vaca was cast away in 1528 were the Coaque
or Coco. In 1685 La Salle landed in their country supposing that
he was near the mouth of the Mississippi, and he built a fort
(Fort St. Louis) in which the French maintained themselves for 2
years. In 1689 the region was visited by a Spanish expedition
under De Leon intent upon driving the Frenchmen out of the
country. Shortly afterward the Spaniards began to colonize Texas
and, though few settlements were made near the coast, missions
were established from time to time to gather in the Karankawan
Indians. The neophytes could never be induced to remain long at
these missions, however, and continued during the Spanish period
in about the same condition of savagery in which they had been
found, though they decreased steadily in numbers. After the
American settlements and begun, the coast tribes annoyed them by
constant pilfering, and the reprisals which the Karankawans
suffered finally destroyed them entirely. The last are said to
have perished shortly before the Civil War. The only Karankawan
vocabulary of undoubted purity was recorded in 1720 by the French
Captain Beranger. In 1891 Dr. A. S. Gatschet published two
others, one obtained from Tonkawa Indians and the other, much
longer, from a white woman named Oliver who had lived near the
last band of Karankawa in her girlhood and had learned a
considerable number of words. But this band is said to have been
much mixed with Coahuiltecan, a contention which an examination
of the material seems to confirm.
Population.- Mooney's (1928) estimate of 2,800 for the Karankawan
tribes in 1690 appears to me decidedly too high, but there are
practically no data upon which to make a satisfactory
determination.
Connection in which they have become noted.- The Karankawan
tribes will be longest remembered as those among which Cabeza de
Vaca and his companions were cast away in 1528, and where La
Salle's colony was established in 1685. The name of one
Karankawan tribe (Kopano) is preserved by Copano Bay.
Kichai or (more phonetically) Kitsei. Their own name and said to
mean "going in wet sand," but the Pawnee translate their
rendering of it as "water turtle." Also called:
Gits'aji, Kansa name.
Ki-ci'-tcac, Omaha name
Kietsash, Wichita name.
Ki-tchesh, Caddo name.
Quiehais, Spanish variant.
Quidehais, from French sources (La Harpe, 1831).
Connections.- The Kichai were a tribe of the Caddoan stock whose
language lay midway between Wichita and Pawnee.
Location.- On the upper waters of Trinity River, and between that
stream and Red River. (See also Oklahoma.)
History.- It is probable that in the prehistoric period the
Kichai lived north of Red River but they had gotten south of it
by 1701 when the French penetrated that country and they
continued in the same general region until 1855. They were then
assigned to a small reservation on Brazos River, along with
several other small tribes.
In 1858, however, alarmed at threats of extermination on the
part of the neighboring Whites, they fled to the present
Oklahoma, where they joined the Wichita. They have remained with
them ever since.
Population.- Mooney (1928) estimates a total Kichai population of
500 in 1690. In 1772 the main Kichai village contained 30 houses
and there were estimated in it 80 warriors, most of whom were
young. In 1778 the number of Kichai fighting men was estimated at
100. The census of 1910 returned a total population of only 10,
and that of 1930 included them with the Wichita, the figure for
the two tribes, nearly all Wichita however, being 300.
Connection in which they have become noted.- Their name Kichai is
perpetuated in the Keeche Hills, Okla.; Keechi Creek, Tex.; a
branch of the Trinity, Keechi; a post hamlet of Leon County,
Tex.; and perhaps Kechi, a post township of Sedgwick County,
Kans.
Kiowa. This tribe hunted in and raided across northern Texas. (See Kansas.)
Koasati. Early in thc nineteenth century bands of Koasati had
worked over from Louisiana into Texas, settling first on the
Sabine and later on the Neches and the Trinity. In 1850 the bulk
of the entire tribe was in Texas but later, partly it is said on
account of a pestilence, they suffered heavy losses and most of
the survivors returned to Louisiana, where the largest single
body of Koasati is living. Among the Alabama in Polk County,
Tex., there were in 1912 about 10 of this tribe. (See Alabama
and Louisiana.)
Lipan. Adapted from Ipa-n'de, apparently a personal name; n'de meaning "people."
Also called:
A-tagui, Kiowa name, meaning "timber Apache"; used also for Mescalero.
Cances, Caddo name, meaning "deceivers."
Hu-ta'-ci, Comanche name, meaning "forest Apache"
(Ten Ka,te, 1884, in Hodge, 1907.
Huxul, Tonkawa name. (See Uxul)
Na-izha'n, own name, meaning "ours," "our kind."
Navone, Comanche name (Gatschet, MS., B.A.E.).
Shi'lni, former Mescalero name, meaning "summer people"(?).
Tu-tssn-nde, Mescalero name, meaning "great water people."
Uxul, Tonkawa name, meaning a spiral shell and applied to
this tribe because of their coiled hair.
Yabipai Lipan, so called by Garces in 1776.
Connections.- This is one of the tribes of the Athapascan
linguistic stock to which the general name Apache was applied.
Their closest relations politically were with the Jicarilla, with
whom their formed one linguistic group.
Location.- The Lipan formerly ranged from the Rio Grande in New
Mexico over the eastern part of the latter State and western
Texas southeastward as far as the Gulf of Mexico. (See also New
Mexico and Oklahoma.)
Subdivisions
The Lipan were reported during the early part of the nineteenth
century to consist of three bands, probably the same which Orozco
y Berra (1864) calls Lipanjenne, Lipanes de Arriba, and Lipanes
Abajo.
History.- The position of the Lipan prior to the eighteenth
century is somewhat obscure, but during that century and the
early part of the nineteenth they ranged over the region just
indicated. In 1757 the San Saba mission was established for them,
but it was broken up by their enemies, the Comanche and Wichita.
In 1761-62 the missions of San Lorenzo and Candelaria were
organized for the same purpose but met a similar fate in 1767. In
1839 the Lipan sided with the Texans against the Comanche but
suffered severely from the Whites between 1845, and 1856, when
most of them were driven into Coahuila, Mexico. They remained in
Coahuila until October 1903, when the 19 survivors were taken to
northwest Chihauhua, and remained there until 1905. In that year
they were brought to the United States and placed on the
Mescalero Reservation, N. Mex., where they now live. A few Lipan
were also incorporated with the Tonkawa and the Kiowa Apache.
Population.- Mooney (1928) estimates that the Lipan numbered 500
in 1690. In 1805 the three bands were reported to number 300,
350, and 100 men respectively, which would seem to be a too
liberal allowance. The census of 1910 returned 28.
Connection in which they have become noted.- The Lipan were noted
as persistent raiders into Texas, New Mexico, and Mexico. Their
name has been given to a post village in Hood County, Tex.
Muskogee. A few Muskogee came to Texas in the nineteenth century,
most belonging to the Pakana division. Two or three individuals
lived until recently near Livingston, Tex. (See Alabama.)
Nabedache, Nacschau, Nacanish, Nacogdoche, Nadaco, Namidish,
Nechaui, Neches, and one section of the Nasoni. Small tribes or
bands belonging to the Hnsinai Confederacy (q. v.).
Nanatsoho, Nasoni (Upper). Small tribes or bands connected with
the Kadohadacho Confederacy (q. v.).
Pakana. A Muskogee division. (See Muskogee above and also under
Alabama.)
Pascagoula. Bands belonging to the Pascagoula, entered Texas from
Louisiana early in the nineteenth century, and one band lived on
Biloxi Bayou, a branch of the Neches, for a considerable period,
together with some Biloxi Indians. All had disappeared in 1912
except two Indinns, only half Pascagoula, living with the Alabama
in Polk County. (See Mississippi).
Patiri. A tribe associated with the Akokisa, Bidai, and Deadose
in the mission of San Ildefonso west of Trinity River. Since
related tribes are said to have been put in the same mission in
that period (1748-49), it is believed that the Patiri spoke an
Atakapan language. Their former home is thought to have been
along Caney Creek.
Pueblos. There were two late settlements of Pueblo Indians,
Isleta del Sur and Senecu del Sur, near El Paso, Tex., composed
principally of Indians brought back by Governor Otermin in 1681
after an unsuccessful attempt to subdue the Pueblo Indinns of the
Rio Grande. Senecu del Sur was, however, actually in Chihuahua,
Mexico. The people of these pueblos are now almost completely
Mexicanized. (See New Mexico.)
Quapaw. Between 1823 and 1833 the Quapaw lived with the Caddo
Indians in northwestern Louisiana and northeastern Texas, and one
band of them known as Imaha were reckoned as a constituent
element of the Caddo Confederacy. (See Arkansas.)
Senecu del Sur. (See Pueblos above.)
Shawnee. A band of Shawnee entered eastern Texas for a brief
period during the middle of the nineteenth century. They were
afterward moved to Oklahoma. (See Tennessee.)
Shuman. More often known as Jumano or Humano, significance unknown.
Also called:
Borrados, from Spanish sources, "striped" (?).
Chouman, French form of name.
Humanas, Jumanas, Xumanas, Spanish forms of name.
Ipataraguites, from Mota-Padilla, probably intended for this tribe.
Patarabueyes, given by Espejo in 1582.
Sumn, sometimes regarded as a separate tribe but considered
by Sauermerely as a synonym.
Connections.- The eastern division of the Shuman, that to which
the name Jumano is oftentimes applied, was once thought to have
belonged to the Caddoan stock but Sauer (1934) appears to have
shown that in all probability it was Uto-Aztecan. The western
section, often called Suma, has been classed, erroneously of
course, as Tanoan.
Location.- In early times most of thc Shuman lived along the Rio
Grande between the mouth of the Concho and the present El Paso
but extending westward as far as the Casas Grandes in Chihunhua.
Later a part of them entered the Plains in western Texas and
eastern New Mexico. (See also New Mexico.)
Subdivisions and Villages
Besides the two main divisions to which the names Shuman or
Jumano and Suma have been applied respectively, the Suma later
became separated into two groups, one about El Paso and the other
in the region of the Casas Grandes. The only villages named are:
Atripuy, Genobey, Quelotetrey, and Pataotrey.
History.- The Shuman were first met by Cabeza de Vaca and his
companions about the beginning of the year 1536 although De Vaca
does not mention them by name. In 1582 they were visited by
Antonio de Espejo and in 1598 by Juan de Oriate. At the latter
date a part of them at least were near the Salinas, east of the
Rio Grande in what is now New Mexico. About 1622 they were
visited by the Franciscan missionary of the Pueblo of Isleta, and
in 1829 an independent mission was established for them. By this
time, the eastem section of the tribe had gotten as far east as
the Conchos, a headstream of the Nueces. About 1670 there were
Shuman not far from Pecos River, and from that lime through the
eighteenth century they seem to have resided principally in the
region indicated. As late as the middle of the nineteenth century
they are mentioned in connection with the Kiowa, and again as
living near Lampazas, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. Possibly they were the
tribe later known as Waco. The name of the western Shuman appears
in the form Suma as early as 1630 when it was used by Benavides,
and in 1659 some of the northern Suma were at San Lorenzo. During
the Pueblo revolt of 1680 they became hostile and united with the
Manso and Jano in an outbreak in 1684, but they were reduced 2
years later and formed into several settlements about El Paso,
San Lorenzo being the only one to endure. They declined steadily
in numbers until in 1897 only one was known to be living, at
Senecu. The mission of Casas Grandes was established among the
southern branch of the Suma in 1664. Then and for some years
afterward they were allied with the Apache and Jocome in raids
against the Piman tribes west of them, particularly the Opata,
but are supposed to have been destroyed ultimately by the Apache.
Population.- In 1582 Espejo believed that the Shuman numbered
10,000, probably an overestimate. Mooney (1928) does not give
them separate entry in his estimates, of population. In 1744 the
northern branch of that part of the tribe called Suma had become
reduced to 50 families; in 1765 there were only 21 families; and
in 1897 only one individual was supposed to be left.
Soacatino, or Xacatin. A tribe met by the companions of De Soto
in northwestern Louisiana or northeastern Texas. It Was
undoubtedly Caddo but has not been identified satisfactorily with
any known Caddo tribe.
Tawakoni. The Tawakoni were a subdivision of the Wichita, or at
least a tribe closely affiliated with them. (See Oklahoma.)
Tonkawan Tribes. The name derived from the most important and
only surviving tribe of the family. Gatschet (1891 a) says that
Tonkawa is a Waco word, Tonkaweya, meaning "they all stay
together." The synonyms are not to be confounded with those of
the Tawakoni. Also called:
Kadiko, Kiowa name, probably a corruption of Kuikogo, "maneating men"
(Gatschet, MS., B.A.E.).
Kariko, Comanche name, from above.
K'inahi-piako, Kiowa name, meaning "maneaters" (Mooney, 1898).
Konkone or Komkome, early French name.
Maneaters, common translation of some of above synonyms.
Miuxsen, Cheyenne name.
Nemerexka, Comanche name (Gatschet, MS., B. A. E.).
Titskan watitch, own name.
Connections.- The Tonkawan tribes constitute a distinct
linguistic family but with affinities for the Coahuiltecan and
probably Karankawan and Tunican groups.
Location.- In central Texas from Cibolo Creek on the southwest to
within a few miles of Trinity River on the northeast. (See also
Oklahoma.)
Subdivisions
The tribes or bands certainly included under this head were the
Tonkawa Yojuane, Mayeye, and Ervipiame, but there should probably
be added the Sana, Emet, Cava, Toho, Tohaha, Quiutcanuaha, Tenu,
Tetzino, Tishin, Tusolivi, and Ujuiap, and perhaps also the
Nonapho, Sijame, Sirnaomo, Muruam, Pulncuam, and Choyapin, though
the last three at least were probably Coahuiltecan.
History.- Tribes of Tonkawan stock were undoubtedly encountered
by Cabeza de Vaca early in the sixteenth century; certainly so if
the Muruam were Tonkawan for they are evidently his Mariames. In
1691 the Tonkawa and Yojuane are mentioned by Francisco Casanas
de Jesus Maria as enemies of the Hasinai (Swanton, 1942, p. 251),
and in 1714 the Yojuane destroyed the main fire temple of the
Hasinai. Between 1746 and 1749 the Tonkawa were gathered into
missions on San Xavier (San Gabriel) River but these were given
up in 1756, and 2 years later the Tonkawa assisted in the
destruction of the San Saba Mission established for the Apache.
From that time until well into the nineteenth century the tribe
continued to reside in the same section, rarely settling down for
any considerable period. In 1855 they and several other Texas
tribes were gathered by the United States Government on two small
reservations on Brazos River. In 1859 however, the threatening
attitude of their white neighbors resulted in their removal to
Washita River in what is now Oklahoma. On the night of October
25, 1862, the Tonkawa camp there was fallen upon by a body of
Delaware, Shawnee, and Caddo Indians desiring to pay off old
scores but pretending that the Tonkawa and their agent were in
sympathy with the Southern Confederacy. Out of about 300 Tonkawa
137 were massacred, and the survivors, after some years of
miserable wandering, were gathered into Fort Griffin, Tex., where
they might be protected from their enemies,. In 1884 all that
were left were given a small reservation in northern Oklahoma,
near the Ponca, where their descendants still live.
Population.- Mooney (1928) estimated that in 1690 there were
about 1,600 Tonkawa. A Spanish estimate of 1778 gives 300
warriors but the following year, after an epidemic of smallpox,
this is cut in half. In 1782, 600 were said to have attended a
certain meeting and this was only a portion of the tribe. Sibley
(1832) estimated that in 1805 they had 200 men. In 1809 there
were said to be 250 families and in 1828, 80. In 1847 the
official estimate was 150 men Before the massacre of 1862 there
were supposed to be about 300 all told, but when they were placed
on their reservation in 1884 there were only 92. In 1908 there
were 48 including a few intermarried Lipan; the census of 1910
gave 42, but that of 1930 restores the figure to 48, and in 1937
there were said to be 51.
Connection in which they have become noted- The Tonkawan tribes
have the following claims to remembrance (1) On account of the
uniqueness of their language, (2) for their reputed addiction to
cannibalism, (3) on account of the massacre perpetrated upon them
partly in consequence of this reputation, as above described. The
city of Tonkawa in Kay County, Okla., perpetuates the name.
Waco. The Waco were a subtribe or tribe of the Wichita group
which lived near the present Waco for a limited period before
removal to Oklahoma (q. v.).
Wichita. The Wichita ,lived for a time along both sides of Red
River in northern Texas. (See Oklahoma.)
![]() Text - Copyright © 1996-2002 Paul R. Sarrett, Jr. Created: Dec. 01, 1996; ![]() |